Each and every week, developers push a slew of app updates out onto the iTunes App Store, and sometimes it can be hard to keep track. This week’s notable app updates include that of programming and development environment – Codea, journal replacement – Awesome Note HD, and text editor – iA Writer.
Join us after the break for a quick rundown on this week’s most-notable app updates!
Described as the “quintessential” text editor for iPhone and iPod touch, iA Writer aims to take all distractions away from you and your thoughts, allowing you to focus on what’s most-important: Your writing.
Complete with iCloud and Dropbox integration for sharing your written documents once finished, iA Writer 1.5.2 includes a number of notable features and enhancements, including that of a “Retina” font for the new iPad.
Also in this version: New documents you create can now be saved in last storage used, and full screen scrolling and text transitions have received some well-deserved improvements. VoiceOver functionality has also been optimized to provide you with the best experience possible.
Looking for a journal or scrapbook to jot down some notes, or tracking your daily schedule? – Awesome Note HD probably has you covered. With no connection to the internet required, Awesome Note allows you to display your To-dos and notes that are in your calendar, sync and transfer your notes and jots to services such as Google Docs and Evernote, set alarms (notifications) for your events, and more.
Adding to its professional note-editing capabilities this week, Awesome Note HD 3.0 brings with it full support for Apple’s “Retina” display, as well as adding support for calendar events and sync included with iOS 5. The update also brings with it the addition of “visibility” filtering, and arrives with both an enhanced user interface and dramatically improved performance.
Designed to be a window for your creativity, Codea was unique when it made its debut on the App Store because it was largely the first application to provide users with the ability to code and edit their creations on the move. Recently joined by Panic’s Diet Coda, Codea is no longer alone in this field.
In short, Codea uses its full-featured vector graphics and image renderer to allow users to “prototype what [they] can imagine.” It does this by letting the user touch their code.
Want to change a number? Just tap and drag it. How about a color, or an image? Tapping will bring up visual editors that let you choose exactly what you want.
In its latest version, the code editor has gained the ability to load custom sprites. With import options including Dropbox, Two Lives Left note that users can also choose to load sprites saved in their iPad‘s photo library, if they so choose.
Other feature included in this version:
- Text selection: Touch and drag the new buttons above the keyboard to select and position the cursor
- In-line help: select an API term in the editor then choose “Lookup” to see specific help immediately
- Networking API: see the documentation chapter. Has special support for images.
- Project quick search: tap the new quick search icons next to the projects lists
- Keyboard Gestures: Drag directly on the keyboard to position the cursor, hold shift and drag to select text. This feature must be enabled from the settings panel.
Last, but certainly not least, is CloudOn. Again a pioneer in its own field, CloudOn was first to hit the wires due to its claim of being able to bring Microsoft Office to the iPad — and it did it by link the experience with your Dropbox account.
Allowing for the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the tablet to create or edit documents, with CloudOn users can rename, delete and manage their documents with either their Dropbox, Box, or Google Drive accounts.
Building upon this functionality, CloudOn now gives users the option of sending direct links to files they wish to share with their contacts, copying and pasting text between Apple’s built-in iOS mail client, Safari, (and other copy-and-paste-enabled apps).
“Drag & Drop” functionality is also present in this version, allowing users to now easily and efficiently move their files and folders within CloudOn, with the ability to open web links directly in Safari also having been added.
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